The Shepherd and the Star - Part XVI
The Commander ran the back of her hand down the girl’s temple, almost motherly, as she turned her head a little in her sleep. The Captain couldn’t help but stare though, and soon enough she noticed. *‘What?’ the Commander said between glances up. *‘...This ship-...’ he began. *‘-I know,’ she jumped ahead. *‘But this ship-...’ he tried again. *‘-I know,’ she shot him a glare ‘the corridors? The hallways? The dust? I know.’ *‘Commander, this is the place. This is the place from your dreams. How is that possible?’ his voice crept out from beneath his helmet ‘everything, right down to the layout of the crates and the storage cylinders, is accurate. How did you know?’ *‘I didn’t, and I don’t. I don’t know what’s going on, or why I’ve seen this place so many times before. I don’t know.’ She said coldly ‘I don’t know anything.’ *‘Why would you dream about an alien ship? More importantly, how is it possible that you were right? Your dreams acted as a mental foreshadow,’ he looked over the puzzle ‘you’ve definitely seen into the future. You’ve got foresight.’ *‘No, no I haven’t,’ the Commander insisted ‘it’s not magic, or some all powerful force. I figured it out when arrived.’ *‘Go on then.’ He told her ‘Tell me.’ *‘I will, but we need to get her somewhere safe.’ She replied ‘We can’t let the General find her.’ *‘So back to the ship?’ the Captain proposed as he tucked his arms beneath the girl and picked her up. *‘It’s too far. Maybe a storage room or a cargo-hold. Just somewhere where we can lock the door, at least until we figure out what it is we’re doing,’ she explained ‘she’s important.’ *‘You’ve seen her in your visions then?’ he assumed. *‘No, I just think that she’s the only one who didn’t come here to kill anyone. That makes her important, Captain,’ she said blandly ‘from the look of her; I’d say that she’s never killed before. That gives her essential survival rights, above all of us. Wouldn’t you agree?’ He nodded and although his features remained concealed beneath the dim shine of his visor, she sensed that he was smiling in union. She smiled back at his helmet as he turned and carried the girl back down the hallway, before she unlatched her pistol from her thigh and followed; ready to cover him in case any more insane soldiers emerged from the depths of the obscure colossus. --- The General handled the small device with care at first as the other two secured the room and recognised the new corpses cluttered across the floor. She threw it over her should suddenly and sloppily as she noticed one of the console screens brighten in response to their presence. Eve’s voice trembled out of the small speaker. *‘Trap 92-09 out of power. Recharge malfunction. Inactive.’ Her words came out and sounded nearly jumbled ‘Humans detected. Intruders.’ One of the soldiers noticed the device which the General had picked up when she entered. It was the tracking signal from one of the other strike teams. They’d found their lost allies, and they were dead too. The General, empty of guilt, approached the console as it stood with many at the foot of the rounded chamber as her soldiers examined their comrades. *‘They were stabbed many times,’ one of them gasped. *‘There are traps hidden in the walls at almost sporadically points across the ship. Fortunately for us, the one in this room ran out of juice whilst puncturing our friends here. I presume the traps recoiled back behind the plates,’ the General nodded over to the walls ‘I think we’re in safe in here for now.’ *‘Why? What’s with all of the traps anyway?’ the other soldier said as he swapped his pistol for one of his dead comrade’s rifles. *‘They suggest that this ship needs protecting. If we overcome the traps then I think we’ve proven ourselves worthy of towing her home,’ she said mildly ‘they were put there for a reason. I think it’s more than reasonable to just assume that each time we encounter a trap; we’re getting closer to turning this thing around. Wouldn’t you agree? Doesn’t this look some kind of command node to you? Wouldn’t you say that the trap was protecting this terminal? Things do add up if you bother to start counting.’ *‘Okay,’ one sighed ‘so what is it?’ She watched a virtual humanoid handprint melt into existence on the vacant face of the console as the other monitors activated, each showing the same spherical seal she had seen throughout her journey across the deck. Naively, she dropped her hand onto it and felt the machine quiver with energy. *‘General, is that wise?’ the soldier asked desperately as he leapt forward to her side. *‘I’m trying to find an answer for you.’ She smiled. The entire room lit up and each machine began to sing together a gentle drone as the central one delegated its power amongst them. The Rassilon seals on the screens began to radiate curiously, like their physical counterparts. *‘General?’ the other soldier breathed as the entire room became eaten by a sudden wave of light. --- The Captain carried the girl around a corner through the next hallway when the Commander gestured with her hand for him to stop. *‘What is it?’ he asked quietly, and then noticed the focus of her gaze. The symbol which hung above the next door was suddenly glowing, and it was happening all over the ship. The girl turned her head again slightly as her eyes fluttered, and the scenery of her dream became something else. --- The walls of the Temple of Time were immediately washed away and the daybreak sky liquefied into midday, with the three suns that danced just beyond a slim streak of clouds high above. She felt small, thin rows of grass between her toes as she gradually became attentive of where she was, just as a perfect breeze coerced gently at her. She slowly breathed in the lucid summer air and moved away from the notion that it was all dream. It felt so real now. She was there. Soon enough she was looking at her own reflection again, but this time it was much clearer. She was standing beside a small lake on a mountaintop and although there were thick patches of snow scattered around various peaks, it felt very humid and it was very, very beautiful. And just as she thought it could not get any more gorgeous, her eyes wandered up across the still surface of the water and beyond the distant peaks at the edge of the mountain then to the dim structure far in the expanse, almost hidden beneath the thick glow of the suns. It was the heart of the entire universe, and core of this world’s civilisation. It was a fortress. It was a citadel. The citadel. The citadel of the Time Lords. And then she heard something foreign which brought a meagre presence to this perfection. She glared over her shoulder and to a young man just across the field dressed in thin layers of armour as he was moving tools in and out of a large hut beside the shadow of one peak. He remained utterly oblivious to her presence and continued with what he was doing, until he was approached by two more men in long white hoods. They carried a badge on their robes, a badge which bore the Rassilon seal. The man stopped working as they approached. *‘...Can I help you folk?’ he said, more impatient than polite before he noticed the seal ‘Oh, you’re from the Citadel. Can’t say I have much business with the government really. Too much politics, well, it makes my head spin mainly. So, what are you two gents doing all of the way up here?’ *‘We were sent here by Mistress Serena,’ one of them, the elderly of the two and the one who seemed least likely to talk out of the two explained. *‘Kinky stuff, who’s Serena?’ the man said as he kneeled and dropped himself back onto the grass. *‘The Second Chosen, Serena.’ The other stated as if it were supposed to be obvious ‘We’re from the temple.’ There was a pause here as the man simply glanced between them without moving and then raised his eyebrows in a ‘what temple?’ fashion. *‘The Temple of Time,’ the aged man sighed, but it made no dent in the young man’s lack of knowledge on the matter. *‘The big golden temple right near the Citadel?’ the other intervened ‘How can you not know the Temple of Time?’ *‘I’m not a political guy, I think I mentioned that,’ he shrugged ‘so are you lost or what?’ *‘We were sent here by Serena because you’ve been chosen,’ the younger of the priests declared proudly. Another pause ensued where the confused man slowly raised his eyebrows again, this time in a more ‘what the hell are you talking about?’ fashion. *‘Chosen? As in the Chosen?’ the priest said aggressively. *‘...Like a...contest?’ he said, puzzled. *‘...No,’ the priest sighed, surrendered and allowed his elderly companion to try. *‘''The'' Chosen,’ the aged man emphasised ‘You must have heard of them.’ *‘Some religious sect, right? I only know what I hear, and that’s not enough to speak openly about them. What’s their interest in the lake?’ he finally gave an honest answer. *‘...They don’t have an interest in the lake,’ the priest continued, and watched a gaze of shock and horror overwhelm the young man’s features. *‘...They want to buy my hut?’ he struggled for breath. *‘...No!’ the younger one sighed again ‘they don’t want to buy your hut.’ *‘...I lived in that hut since I was...well, since like a year ago, and I know the view is just perfect for those sunrises and sunsets, right? I knew that someone would eventually come along and-...’ the man burst out into a short rant. *‘-Are you sure this is him?’ the younger priest turned to his friend. *‘...Pretty sure,’ he replied and looked down on the man again ‘Serena has an interest in you specifically, Mappalazarou.’ *‘...Is this....kinky-wise? I’m not too fond of the whole mistress thing,’ Mapp retorted. *‘You’ve been chosen,’ the priest snapped ‘you’ve been chosen...to be one of the Chosen.’ *‘...Oh, so not confusing at all then?’ Mapp snapped back ‘aren’t there already enough Chosen? I didn’t realise they were still...choosing.’ *‘There were four, you’re right.’ The priest briefly described ‘but one was lost. The remaining three regrouped, summoned up a new prophecy, and needed a replacement quickly and...Here we are.’ There was another pause, which seemed even more awkward than the last. *‘How do you lose a whole Chosen?’ Mapp asked as he leant forward slightly, not really knowing what he was talking about ‘Isn’t that like losing God, or something?’ *‘We don’t question the machinations of our beliefs, Mappalazarou, why would we? Faith is far stronger-...’ the aged priest said, almost with a rhythm to his voice. *‘-One of the fundamentals of having a religion really,’ Mapp sniggered ‘but hey, I’m not the one who misplaced my god. Partially because I don’t have a god, or maybe because I’m my own God...Either way, I’m still here.’ *‘We’re not permitted to know where our lost Lady was sent but we know that it must be simply the force of the Chosen. We’ll abide by it. Many of us loved Eve, but she is gone from us now. We presume her to still be watching us, from somewhere.’ *‘Wonderful,’ Mapp sneered, and then sighed himself ‘I’m bored now. What do you want?’ *‘We need you to come with us, and before you decline we just want you to know that this is not negotiable,’ the younger priest proclaimed ‘there’s a great void where the worship of Eve now funnels itself too, it desperately needs to be filled up again.’ *‘...Why me?’ Mapp raised the issue ‘I’ve never had anything to do with the Citadel or the Temple or the Chosen before. Why me, and why now?’ The girl gasped sharply as the whole landscape melted back into the darkened walls of the Temple of Time as a crescent moon shined through the glass seal and dimly lit up the sanctuary chamber. Mapp stood, stripped of his armour with his hands tied and blood seeping from various small wounds in his tortured body amidst a group of soldiers as three hooded people, a man and two women, debated with each other beside the central altar. Although the girl knew that none of them could see her, she chose to hide behind the statue at the front and merely listen. She didn’t know whether or not she was seeing the past, present or future. Everything was so confusing. *‘He won’t give in,’ one the women said ‘but he is the one. He’s definitely the one.’ *‘I disagree. Why would the prophecy elect a nonbeliever to be one of us? It simply makes no sense; he can’t be one of us. Eve would never have allowed it,’ the man argued sternly ‘I believe the prophecy to be corrupt.’ *‘Say that again and I’ll cut your eyes out-...’ she fought back. *‘-Oh you bring it on!’ he yelled. *‘-Enough of this, we know Mapp is the new third. We all saw him there, we all know deep down what he is capable of. I’ve seen a future where he even turns against us.’ The youngest of the trio, another woman, said as she folded her arms ‘I’ve seen a future where the decision to keep him here ends with our destruction. I believe that in that future I’m destined to lose all of my memories too. They’ll think I’m someone else.’ *‘Susie, shut up. You’re not even a Time Lord-...’ the man roared as the other woman pushed him aside. *‘-That proves it then. Anyone can be selected by the prophecy to become a Chosen. Where does it say that we all have to be Time Lords? Times change, damn it. Susie’s human, Mapp’s Gallifreyan, he never even entered the Academy in the Citadel. Yet he’s a Chosen. Just because you, Eve and I are Time Lords doesn't mean a damn thing. Get over it,’ she howled and pressed the man against the statue. *‘He’ll never accept it. He’s too stubborn.’ Susie whined. *‘Yeah we were all stubborn once,’ the man recalled and pushed his fellow Chosen aside ‘We torture him more and he’ll give in, Serena.’ *‘Potentially-...’ the woman, Serena, began. *‘Maybe,’ Susie agreed and nodded to the gaurds holding Mapp ‘take him downstairs, lock the door.’ *‘Oh that’s good,’ the man concurred, intrigued by her sudden lack of mercy ‘yeah, I like that. I’m thinking a hundred years?’ *‘Do we have that much patience?’ Serena asked, quite shocked by the very notion. *‘I think so,’ Susie smiled ‘I think we do.’ Mapp, who was too weak to even listen to their conversation, was snatched up again by the Temple gaurds and dragged out of the room without even offering a little bit of a resistance as the rest of the sanctuary emptied and the three Chosen stared up at the statue which held the sword. The girl remained hidden carefully behind. *‘So we give him a hundred to that cell all alone, then he’ll cave in,’ the man assured them. *‘We’ll see.’ Serena frowned. *‘If this place even has a hundred years left,’ Susie said slowly ‘we all know why Eve left in the first place.’ *‘The war?’ Serena asked ‘So you really think Gallifrey is in danger?’ *‘Eve wouldn’t have left if it wasn’t, but just because she’s dead doesn’t mean that the mission has completely failed. Who is to say that the ship isn’t still on course?’ she raised the point ‘Maybe she perfected to autopilot, and maybe she worked when the battles were going to start. If so, then everything might still be going to plan.’ *‘I think we’re forgetting that Eve’s gone now? How is that applicable to the original plan?’ the man disputed her idea. *‘Susie has a point. Eve knew that there was a chance that she wasn’t coming back from this. She would have prepared for that, somehow. The mission was more important to her than the beliefs that would have kept her here. Maybe it was a mistake to authorise it. Maybe she’d still be alive.’ Serena thought out loud and noticed her reflection in the sword of the Chosen ‘I can’t help but feel a little responsible for her death.’ *‘If the mission is still on course then we’re gonna find out in about fifty years. If the war doesn’t happen by then, then we’ll board the ship and turn it around-...’ the man started before the entire chamber started to tremble and fade into a bright light. The Chosen remained oblivious to the change as the entire temple liquefied into darkness...and the girl shuffled her eyes open. She was back in deep space, back aboard the ship as it darted further down through the system. in Part XVII